Forward
by JustKidd
Summary: The first floor boss fight as might have been experienced by the other faceless, nameless players. Needless to say, quite a few liberties were taken. OCs galore. Oneshot.


A great man once said, you only live twice. Once when you were born, another when you looked death in the face. If that were true, then we were cats.

It was the summer of 2022. The mere launch of a game, said to be the most advance of virtual technology, plunged our lives into utter chaos. That hottest day in the mid-summer, when the light was said to be the longest in the whole year, just hours after Sword Art Online went live for the first time, ten thousand lives were forfeited.

I was one such life, crying and cursing at the top of my lungs, refusing to believe what had just happened.

A monster appeared before us. The sky splat open and blood gushed out of the crevasses. The sky was dyed red, and the whole world stank of rusted copper - a testament to how far they went with the development. The blood flowed and pooled, rolling itself into a ball, suspended in mid-air at the center of the field. A man, as big as the Tokyo Tower, wearing a cloak just as red came out.

And everyone cheered. It was the launch of a new game, an mmo, after all. I guess everyone was just excited. We were, as one would called, _the chosen ones._ Out of hundreds of thousands, we were the lucky few managed to get our hands on the game, one hyped to be the biggest, most real experience in the virtual reality yet. At least, that was what we thought back then.

And then the man spoke.

Of course, nobody believed him at first. Until he bombarded us with all the evidence we need. Until we realized this world was inescapable. Until we saw those that entered with us, one by one, disappeared into a blinding light, gone without a trace, with only one question playing at the back of our mind.

 _What if, everything he said was true?_

Aincrad, had become our prison, one where you paid the ultimate price for failure. Died here, and you'd be dead outside as well. With no way to log out, forward was the only way back. Progression was slow. Two months had passed since that day, and still no one was able to move to the next floor on the hundred-level tower.

Until today.

Today, someone finally called a meeting for the highest level players. Someone finally thought of clearing the floor boss and moving on.

With nothing else to do on my side, I went to the gathering as well, just to see what the fuss was all about. It never occurred to me to join them. A boss raid, one where your very life might fly away in an instant was not a place for a ten-inch blade after all. Daggers stroke fast and precise, but lacked power. With the stake as high as it was, I couldn't afford to be as reckless as I did during the beta. My main style now was to pick and ambush lonely field monster, keeping my safety margin. I got by just enough, not the highest level, sure, but I didn't stuck at the first town either. My aim today was to get some information about the game going forward, and with some luck, I might get a few new hunting grounds too. So I took my place at one corner of the run-down coliseum where we gathered, keeping my distance from the crowd upfront. There were a few others sitting with me as well, most likely solo players just like me.

Everyone cheered when a man walked to the front. He wore a blue outfit, with a light armor on his chest that seemed better than most of us. He had a small shield on his left arm and a sword dangled from his waist. He went on to talk about how he and his teammates managed to get to the boss room, and now looking for players willing to try on the boss together, details I wasn't particularly interested at. Aside from a minor scuffle mid-way, the gathering went on without a hitch. Everyone scattered and gathered into groups in preparation for the raid, even the few solo players around me before. Not a single one seemed to be the slightest bit worried about the consequences if we lost. I guess the excitement of a raid was more welcoming than the dread for the end, but then again, people scared for their life probably won't even take a step out of the Origin Town. I stood up, pat some dust off of myself, and walked towards the exit when someone grabbed my shoulder. I turned around to see the brightest smile I had ever seen in two months.

If I had to guess, she was slightly older than me. Her long, black hair was set to a high ponytail at the back of her head, and if I was being frank, a Japanese trait that didn't go too well with her blue eyes. But then again, this was a game after all. You were allowed to be different than real-life here. I myself had this bright green hair that wouldn't look out of place in a candy or tea commercial. I glanced to the top of her head.

 _Melissa._

"Are you alone?" she said. "Why don't you come with us?"

I hesitated. I guessed just being by myself these past few weeks had blurred my head with those kind words. Melissa never bothered to wait for my answer. She dragged me to one corner of the place where four other players were talking.

"Dino, I got another one." She waved her left hand at the group, while her right wrapped tight around my wrist. She had quite the grip for someone with such a small hands.

Dino looked at us and waved back. He wore a dark grey shirt and pants, accented with silver colored chest plate and boots. The shield he had on his arm let out a creaking noise as he waved his hand.

"Hi, I hope she wasn't being such a bother," he said when we approached. He ignored Melissa's protest at the remark and continued, "what do you use?"

I hesitated again, and produced the dagger sealed at the back of my waist. The faster everyone knew I won't be any good in a raid, the faster I could get out of here. He looked at it for a few seconds, and set his eyes back at mine.

"Debuff?"

My mouth went agape for a moment. No one ever bothered to ask that before. Most would just gave me a look, smiled, said some bull about a team's compatibility and walked away. I stared at him for a few more moments and nodded. "Para and poison," I said.

He went silent, and shrugged. "Stick with para, unless we get to the boss."

I nodded.

"Alright, so who was a beta?" Dino looked back at the team.

They looked at each other following the question. I took the time to familiarize myself with the rest of the crew. There was Jack, who towered everyone of us, and seemed the oldest as well. His axe looked to be somewhat higher quality than what you'd get at the start. The other two had an eerily similar face, and a little younger than us. Twins, no doubt. In the real life, they might have some subtle difference, but here, where the game just scanned your most prominent features, they shared the same face. If not for the hair and the clothes they had, it would be impossible to tell them apart. They called themselves Hansel and Gretel, appropriately enough. The boy had a sword and shield, just like Dino, and the girl had a katana slung on her back.

"Floor twenty one, middle section," Jack said. His voice was gruff, like someone who had smoked all his life. He was definitely older than us.

Dino nodded. "Anyone else?"

I raised my hand. "Seventeen. Got… floored at the boss."

"And you two are new?" He looked at the twins. They nodded. He went silent again for about a second, and pointed at Jack. "We'll be the main forwards. Mel, you go with him. Remember your distance-"

"Sir, yes sir."

He rolled his eyes at Melissa's salute and went on. "Twins, stay at the back. Don't come forward unless someone says so." He waited for their answers, before turning to me. "You're with me," he smiled as he showed me his left arm, "stick close to the shield and you'll be fine."

I stammered for the third time that day. Hadn't had a party for more than a month now, and here I was, prepping for a raid. I only managed a small smile as opposed to the two big ones shining in front of me.

* * *

Ilfang the Kobold Lord was nothing more than a tutorial boss in the beta, a mildly difficult obstacle used to get the players to familiarize themselves with the system. I even soloed him a few times after I racked in enough levels in the past. To see a few dozen players teamed up for him was actually, refreshing, for a lack of better words. Of course, back then the threat of permanent death was never an issue.

As a party with mid-level players, not to mention the trio of complete beginners, we were tasked to take care of the adds while the more 'serious' players took care of the boss.

The fight started slow. Both sides only looked at each other for the moment. The blue-haired man was arranging our formation when the AI decided to finally break the staring contest. It sent the first three adds on us. Dino lunged forward. He raised his shield, caught a Kobold Sentinel's first strike and followed with a stab. With the agro locked on him, he jumped to the side, separating that one from the other two. We followed suit.

I stayed directly behind him, just as he asked, never letting my sight off of the scene before me, my blade gripped tightly in my right hand, and a paralysis crystal in my left, waiting for the word from the front. My chest pounded as I watched Dino's health changed from green to yellow to red. I tightened my grip on the dagger and rub the crystal with the tip of my thumb.

 _Any second now._

"Switch."

I snapped at the voice. I smashed the crystal on my dagger and moved forward as Dino moved to the back. Jack rushed alongside me. He opened with an overhead smash . The enemy's sight went to him instead of me. I slid to its side and started stabbing.

We finished the first one without a hitch. I was catching my breath when a loud screech broke my eardrums open. Two of the parties had engaged the boss, and the second wave of adds started. One sentinel spawned directly twenty paces before us. It came straight at me.

"Switch." Melissa's voice came to me from the back row, just as Jack's towering shadow disappeared beside me.

Melissa thrusted her arm all the way forward. Her spear caught the approaching sentinel right in the gut just as it raised its hammer over its head.

I exhaled a relieving breath when it changed direction towards her.

"Switch," Dino said from behind me.

I complied and took out a healing crystal for myself.

Dino went ahead and rammer his shield at the new kobold. It was stunned for a heartbeat, just enough for him and Melissa to get into position. For a pug, I thought me and Dino cooperated quite well, but he and Melissa was something else entirely. His shield just floated in front of her, taking all the brunt force from the enemy. And Melissa followed without hesitation, glued to the slab of wood like it was her own, all the while she stabbed and swiped her spear over and under the shield, and chipped away the kobold's HP until the end. Dino never seemed to care about his decreasing health. They panted when the sentinel disappeared in a blinding white light. Dino took the time to heal himself while Melissa switched places with Jack. At the other end of the room, the main attackers had brought the boss's HP to almost the halfway point. We checked our position and prepared ourselves for the third wave.

In the beta, this was where most beginners met their first hurdle. The sentinels were buffed, and in the presence of more than one player, Ilfang would kill its enmity on the primary target and direct it towards others at random. Managing this agro was what separated the good and the great forwards.

I tightened my grip and took a deep breath when another screech, even louder than before echoed through the whole room. The third wave had started.

Only two sentinels spawned this time, but both were bigger than before, and had even thicker armors all over their body. One headed straight towards us. The other went to another support party to our right.

The four of us focused our attacks on the sentinel, not wanting it to go towards the twins. I recalled how Melissa moved earlier, and tried my best to imitate her. I stuck close to the shield, and to Dino. He moved right, I moved right. He moved left, I moved left. He ducked, I ducked even lower. We were quite literally, joined at the hips that exact moment, like a pair of siamese twins stuck in a deadly skirmish. Because of my shirt range, his shield was the only thing in my vision. I had to feel the edge of the shield with my forearm as I stabbed and sliced from under it, hoping my debut would finally take effect, just so we could get a breather. Beside us, Jack panted as he dodged and blocked the attacks with his axe. Melissa's spear was all I could see of her, as she thrust it through the openings from behind.

"Heal," Dino said when the sentinel stopped moving. Everyone took out a healing crystal, when a scream nearby sent us on high alert.

Someone on the other team screwed up. My stomach twisted as I saw one of their forwards disappeared bit by bit into the blinding white light. The other sentinel rushed through the light, making its way to the back. Caught off-guard, none of them thought of moving out the way. And in two more seconds, ours would start moving again.

Dino clicked his tongue. "Mel," he said as he lowered his left arm. Melissa huffed and flicked through the game's menu. Dino shouted as he flung his shield towards the other team. It flew in an arc, hit the sentinel square on the head, and bounced back towards his arm, bringing the other one to us as well, just as the one we already engaged started to move. Right next to me, Melissa had changed her spear to a shorter, thicker lance. A dull light now enveloped both her and Dino. And she changed to Dino a split second later.

Melissa trusted her medium lance as the new kobold came near us. It barely put a dent on its health, but sent it backwards a few steps.

"Hansel," Dino said as he flicked open his menu, "buy me ten seconds." Hansel answered and rushed forward towards Melissa, shield raised. Dino tapped my shoulder. "Go," he said. With the corner of my eyes still on him, I felt my body moved forward, sticking close to the twin in front of me.

Hansel had arranged for our group to stood opposite of Dino and the rest, a theoretically correct move as it limited the enemies' range in the center, so we didn't have to deal with a back ambush from the other kobold, but I just couldn't get my eyes off of Dino, even as I stabbed and slashed through Hansel's shield.

It seemed like Dino had finished going through his menu. Both his sword and shield now glowed in a dull, white light. Gretel had moved beside him, while Jack tried his best to keep their kobold away from them. Dino said something to them as the two white lights on him combined into a single one, which he grabbed with both hands. He lunged forward as Jack moved to the back. He raised his hands overhead, and the light vanished, revealing a warhammer, almost as big as him underneath. He screamed as he pound the massive head on the sentinel's torso. It cracked the kobold armor, sent it paces backwards, and stunned it in place. "Go." Dino shouted.

Jack jumped overhead, and Gretel lowered herself, both moving forward to the stilled enemy. Gretel let out a wide slash with her katana, while Jack brought down his axe and cleaved the head of the kobold clean off.

I couldn't help but let out a small smile as I watch the sentinel vanished into the light and my eyes met Dino's. My brows no I've close together when I saw his eyes went wide in shock. He moved his right hand towards the head of his hammer, pulled it on his shoulder, and step forward.

"Hana."

My body froze as he shouted my name, and the area around me went dark. I turned around to see two bulging red eyes stared at me just five paces away. Without thinking, I raised both arms across my chest.

I heard a loud crack as I was flung all the way across the room. The boss was straight before me, both arms raised to the side. I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes for coming impact.

A beat went by, when I realized I was still alive. I opened my eyes, and felt like dying. Dino and Jack was blocking both fists with their weapons. Hansel and Melissa stood guard on both sides of me. Gretel sat near me and took out a healing crystal. They were all in the yellow, and yet…

"Attackers," my thought broke when I heard Jack's gruff voice shouted at the other players. "The hell are you doing? Take it back."

My heart pounded at the wall of my chest as I watched my health crawled from red to yellow, and as the other players tried to win the boss's ago back from us. We let out relieved sighs when someone eventually killed the boss and finished the fight.

We lost five more people that day, including the guy that organized the raid. Another minor scuffle broke out after the fight, something I wasn't particularly care about. Escaping death would do that to you sometime.

I took deep breaths and fisted my hand, and gripped the inner of my boots with my toes as we moved towards the exit, trying my hardest to feel my body. I thought I heard Melissa said something, and the rest of the group seemed to like, judging from their reactions. For some reason, their voices went further and further away from me. I rubbed my chest as I walk. My heart was still pounding in my ribcage. I halted when I realized their voices had stopped.

"Hana." Dino's soft voice came in my ears and broke me out of my reverie. I raised my head to see everyone was smiling at me. "You coming?" he said.


End file.
